Self-acting mule for spinning



5 ShetS -Sheet 1.

G. WRIGHT. SELF ACTING MULB FOR SPINNING.

No. 18,029. Patented Aug. 18, 1857.

5 Sheets-Sheet 2.

G. WRIGHT.

SELF ACTING MULE FOR SPINNING.

-N0. 18,029. Patented Aug. 18, 1857.

5 Sheets-Sheet 3.

G. WRIGHT. SELF ACTING MULE'PGR SPINNING.

No. 18,029. Patented Aug. 18,1857.

5 Sheets-Sheet 4.

G. WRIGHT. SELF ACTING MULE FOR SPINNING.

Patented Aug. 18

5 She'ets-Sheet 5.

G. WRIGHT. SELF ACTING MULE FOR SPINNING.

Patented Aug. 18, 1857.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE WRIGHT, OF GRAFTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

SELF-ACTING MULE FOR SPINNING.

Specification of Letters Patent No. 18,029, dated August 18, 1857.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, Gno. lVRIGHT, of Grafton,in the county of orcester and State of Massachusetts, have inventedcertain Improvements in Self-Acting Mules for Spinning, of which thefollowing is a full, clear, and exact description, reference being hadto the accompanying drawings, making part of this specification, inwhich Figure 1 is a plan. Fig. 2 a side elevation. Fig. 3 a rear view ofthe machine. Figs. t, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, and 17details to be referred to hereafter.

My improvements are particularly applicable to a self actor mule forwhich Letters Patent of the United States were granted to me on the 11thday of July 1854, and consist firstly in giving the yarns a second draftafter the delivery of the ends has ceased. Secondly, in operatingcertain mot-ions upon the carriage such as the breaking up of thespindlesthe backing offand the movement of the upper faller by thetaking in scroll chain which gives the return motion to the carriage,whereby I am enabled to dispense with much of the complicated andexpensive machinery heretofore employed for the purpose of producingthese motions. Thirdly, in running the drum band over a vibrating armupon the carriage and clamping it thereto at intervals for the purposeof backing off and winding up the yarn.

My invention furthermore consists in certain details which will behereafter more particularly explained and specified.

To enable others skilled in the art to understand my invention I willproceed to describe the manner in which I have carried it out.

In the said drawings motion is communig' cated to the operating parts ofthe machine through the band A, which runs alternately upon a fastpulley B, and loose pulley C. To the latter is attached the twist pulleya, which runs loosely with it upon the main driving shaft D. The pulleyC, carries a spring click 6, Fig. 7, which engages with teeth 0 in thepulley B, and thus when the latter pulley is driven its teeth slip overthe click and the pulley C, is not driven but when the band A, is uponthe latter pulley then the click I), engaging with the teeth of theother pulley drives it and the shaft D, which isthus driven constantlyin the direction of the arrow Fig. 2, whet-her the band be upon thepulley B, or C.

d, is a carrying pulley which runs loosely upon the shaft D, as it isdriven by the drum band This shaft D, carries a pinion E, which engageswith and drives a wheel G, upon a short shaft H, (Fig. 4') and also awheel F upon the scroll shaft I, (Fig. 6,) that will be moreparticularly referred to hereafter. The wheel G, is clutched andunclutched at intervals with a pulley K, which carries a chain L, bywhich the draft rolls T are operated. This pulley and clutch areoperated by a forked arm M, at tached to a piece Q which slides freelyupon the back of the shipper N, to which it is held by the screw F. Thewheel F runs freely upon the shaft I, (Fig. 6,) and may be clutched witheither the drawing out scroll P, or the take in scroll O, or it may beleft intermediate between the two without giving motion to either ofthem. The shifting of the wheel F, upon its shaft is effected in part bythe outward motion of the carriage and in part by other means as willnow be more fully explained.

Q, is a sliding bar lying beneath the track of the carriage and havingattached to it at its forward end the arm R furnished with a slot 9having two straight and one inclined branches (Fig. 5,) in which playsthe end of a lever S, pivoted at h, to the frame work. This levercarries a pin which plays in a grooved hub attached to the wheel F. Asthe carriage takes out, toward the close of its stretch it strikesagainst a post T, rising from the bar Q, Fig. 5 (seen also dotted inFig. 2 and in plan in Fig. 1) and moves this bar longitudinally by whichmotion firstly the delivery rolls are stopped, the carriage beingpermitted to proceed still farther to 1 eifect a second or after draftupon the yarns. Secondly, the wheel F, is unclutched from the scroll P,by which the outward carriage is arrested.

These operations are performed in order and as follows: As the carriagetakes out, the pin Y projecting from the bar Q is in the inclined branchof the slot- 9 in the bar R, and upon the first motion of this barproduced by the carriage striking against the post T, the pulley K, isunclutched from the wheel G, and the delivery rolls are stopped. Thecarriage now continues to move giving the second draft to the yarnsuntil the bar R, is drawn sufliciently far back to cause the lever S, toenter the inclined branch of the slot g when the wheel F, is immediatelyunclutched from the scroll P, and the car riage stops. The wheel F, isnot however at this time carried so far as to engage it with the takingin scroll O, and the carriage remains stationary until the bar R,receives a.

still further longitudinal motion which is imparted to it as follows: Ithas been stated that the shaft D, revolves continuously in onedirection, this shaft carries uponits end a screw 2' which drives thetwist wheel 9, upon the shaft of which is an arm 70, that strikes as itrevolves an inclined dog m, secured to the bar Q, and throws it stillfarther back carrying the lever S, still farther into the inclinedbranch of the slot and clutching the wheel F, with the scroll O, whichis thus set in mot-ion and the carriage commences to take in. In thisposition the bar Q, is locked, the pin Z entering a notch in the springcatch 29, (Fig. 5) secured to the frame work. The parts remain in thisposition until the carriage arrives at the inner end of its stretch whena toe X upon the carriage, seen dotted in Fig. 2 and in red in Fig. 5,depresses the spring catch 7), and liberates the bar Q, which is drawnback by its spring U, by which means the wheel F, is unclutched from thetake in scroll O and clutched with the take out scroll P and thecarriage commences to take out. This shifting of the gear F, is effectedby the arm R giving motion to the lever S. lVhile the carriage is comingin the band A runs upon the pulley B. When however the lever S, isshifted on the arrival of the carriage as above explained. the arm V,attached to the lever S strikes against the pin w, on the shipper N, andmoves the band A, onto the pulley C. At the same instant the pin Y (Fig.4) descending from the bar Q is thrown into the inclined branch of theslot in the bar R, by which means the pulley K, is clutched with thewheel G, and the drawing rolls are set in motion. Thus as the carriagecommences to take out, the drawing rolls are set in motion and thespindles are revolved rapidly to put in the twist. This revolution ofthe spindles is effected by the drum band f, which is driven by thepulley (0, upon the shaft D. The arrangement and motions of the drumband together with the details of the carriage in immediate connectiontherewith will now be explained.

V, is a short shaft projecting from one side of the carriage, upon thisshaft runs a pulley 7', a brake wheel .5, and a ratchet wheel t, (Fig.11) all cast in one piece or otherwise attached together. Upon the wheel8 two brakes are made to hear at intervals one upon the lower and theother upon the upper side. The lower one of these brakes is representedin Fig. 10 and is con structed as follows: X, is a hanger or supportingpiece which is suspended from the point 9, upon a short shaft Y. Tothissupport is secured a semi-circular bar or strap u, to the ends ofwhich is united a brake cord or band q which is pressed up at intervalsagainst the brake wheel S for the purpose of breaking up the motion ofthe spindles as will be presently explained. The other brake Z, isrepresented in Fig. 11 and carries in addition to its brake band 2 apanel at, which when the brake lever Z, is dropped enters the teeth ofthe wheel t and stops it and the pulley 1".

In Fig. 8, is represented a bent lever A which vibrates upon the shaftthat passes through it at w. The upper branch of this lever carries fourpulleys 1, 2, 3, 4, seen in plan in Fig. 1, which run loosely upon ashort shaft attached to the lever. To the other branch of the lever A isattached the apparatus by which the building of the cap is regulated,and which consists of the screw B working in the stationary bearings 0,0, and carrying at its outer end the ratchet wheel m. a is a roll whichrests upon the former C as the carriage takes in, and 12 a block or nutwhich is gradually moved by the revolution of the screw B from 0, to 0as the building of the cap proceeds. D is the upper faller whichregulates the building of the cap. hen not otherwise depressed it iskept elevated out of the way of the yarns as the spinning proceeds bythe spring E attached to its shaft. It is depressed for the purpose ofbuilding the cop as fol lows: F is a block which moves freely upon theend of the upper faller shaft G H is a spring which tends constantly tocarry the block into the position seen in Fig. 18. This block isconnected by a leather strap P, with a lever K Fig. 9, that vibratesupon the shaft 7. To the lower end of this lever is attached the take incord or chain L which passes beneath the guide pulley M The lever K isbent slightly at a so as to come vertically over the lever A and thus asstrain is put upon the cord L to take the carriage in, the end 0 of thelever K is depressed carrying with it the lever A A pin 6 upon the blockF strikes against the arm 7 upon the shaft G and depresses the upperfaller as the block re volves. N is a hook secured to the upper brakelever Z, seen in plan in Fig. 1, the bent end (Z of which rests upon thelever K whenever the latter is raised. The operations of all these partswill be more fully explained hereafter.

The drum band f, after it leaves the pulley at at c, Fig. 2, passesaround the pulley 4:, upon the carriage, thence back over the pulley (Z,upon the shaft D, thence around the lower one of two horizontal carryingpulleys A upon the vertical shaft B thence around the drum F upon thecar riage, thence around the upper carrying pulley A thence over thestationary pulinclined branch of the slot g riage now proceeds a shortdistance farther' ley C thence over the pulley 3, upon the carriage,thence over the pulley D thence over the pulley 1, frOm which itdescends around the pulley 1*, and returning passes over the pulley 2,back to the driving pulley a.

Operation: The carriage is taken out by the cord or chain 0 in thecustomary manner, starting at the moment of the arrival of the carriageat the headstock, the foot X having depressed the spring p, and allowedthe bar Q, to assume the position represented in Fig. 5. The forwardmotion thus produced of the bar R, throws the pin Y, into the inclinedbranch of the slot 9 by which the drawing rolls T are set in motion. Thelever S also is carried from the inclined to the straight branch of theslot by which the wheel F is clutched with the scroll P, and thecarriage commences to take out, at the same instant the arm V, attachedto the lever S, moves the shipper N, and throws the band upon the pulleyC, whereby the spindles revolve. These three operations, viz., thetaking out of the carriage, the delivery of the ends, and the revolvingof the spindles commence at the same instant and continue until thecarriage arrives nearly to the outer end of its stretch. While thecarriage is thus taking out, the strain upon the band f throws thepulley 1 into the position seen in Fig. 13 and in red in Fig. 2. Onarriving near the end of its stretch the carriage strikes upon the postT, and as before explained draws back the bar Q sufficiently far to stopthe delivery rolls T This is effected as before eX- plained by themotion of the pin V in the The caroutand the second draft is given tothe yarns. The take out band being actuated by the small port-ion of thescroll P, (Fig. 6,) that the motion of the carriage may be slower atthis time than while the ends are being delivered. This second draft hasa twofold object: 1st, the soft portions of the yarns are drawn clownand twisted; 2nd, the weak and imperfect threads that are unfit for useare broken and not wound upon the cop. The yarns are thus rendered moreuniform in size, twist, and strength, and the inferior threads arediscarded. The top of the lever S, now enters the inclined branch of theslot and unclutches the wheel F from the taking out scroll P, by whichthe further motion of the carriage is arrested, the motion of thespindles continuing however until the revolution of the twist wheel 9,has brought the arm is, around so that the latter strikes against theincline m, by which means the lever S, is caused to clutch the wheel F,with the scroll O, and the carriage commences to take in again. At theinstant when the carriage reaches the end of its stretch and its furthermotion is arrested as before explained, the clutch depresses and passesover the spring stop Z by which the carriage is held from being drawnback by the tension of the yarns, while the after twist is being put in.If the carriage at this time be held perfectly stationary the yarns willbe liable to be broken or be strained by the breaking of the fibers, toprevent this and to allow the carriage to yield slightly as the tensionof the yarns increases and before they can be subjected to any injury,the stop Z is attached to a block 9 that is held in place by the spring79 by the yielding of which the carriage is allowed to' advance slightlytoward the headstock. (See Fig. 12). After the carriage is thus lockedthe spindles continue to revolve until the twist wheel 9, Fig. 3 hasthrown back the bar- Q, sufliciently far to allow the pin Z to drop intothe notch in the spring catch 7), and engage the wheel F, with the takein clutch O. A new series of operations llO\V COH'IHIQHCQS.

It has before been stated that the operation of the band f throws thepulleys upon the lever A into the position seen in Fig. 13 and in red inFig. 2. When in this position the pin 00 projecting from the lever Kenters a notch r in a dog gf" hanging-from the support X. As now theband L is wound up and the lower end of the lever K is drawn in thedirection of the arrow (Figs. 2 and 13) the pin 00 raises the dog andapplies the lower brake to the wheel 1' by this stoppage of the wheel 9"the band 7 around this wheel is arrested and the motion of the spindlesis broken up. So soon as this is effected the dog if strikes against theedge a of the support X, by which it is thrown off the pin-a2 and thelower brake is taken off. The next instant the yarn is backed off thespindles as follows: As the lever K continues to move around its shaft Wand in the direction of the arrow Figs. 2 and 13 its other end strikesthe nut upon the lever A and depresses it. The upper brake Z up to thispoint has been held up from the wheel 1' by the lever K the hook (ZFigs. 1 and 13, hanging upon this lever as before explained. As howeverthe lever K continues to descend the brake Z is applied and the pawl 90,engaging with the teeth of the wheel 25, again arrests the motion of thewheel 7" and the band f. As now the lever A is depressed by the lever Kthe pulleys upon the former lever are carried into the position seen inthe black in Fig. 2. While these pulleys are thus moving, the band fbeing clamped to the wheel 1' is turned in the reverse direction and thethreads are backed off the spindles. At the riage takes in and theroller a rides up on the former C the upper faller D is permitted torise as usual to form the cone of the cop. At the commencement or bottomof the cop this cone requires to be obtuse, in the center of the cop itis more acute, and at the upper end of the finished cop it is againobtuse, this variation in the acuteness of the cone is eifected by theform of the block F as follows: the general position and lay of thethreads on the cone as given by the former C which permits the upperfaller D to rise gradually as the carriage takes in. At the commencementof the cop when the block b is next the bearing 0, the lever K descendsso low that its connecting strap I acts upon the block F 2 at a pointthe farthest removed from the center of the faller shaft as in Fig. 15,whereby a minimum degree of motion is imparted to the upper faller asthe carriage takes in, and the cone is con sequently made quite obtuseas required. As the block b advances toward 0 the strap 1 acts upon theblock F at points nearer the center of the shaft (Fig. 16) whereby amore extended motion is given to the upper faller and the cone is madeless obtuse while the middle portion of the cop is formed, at the upperpart of the cop the cone is again made obtuse by the strap 1 bearingupon the point 2' of the block (Fig. 17) by which the distance throughwhich the upper faller is allowed to rise during the winding on is againdiminished. That the point to which the upper faller descends may risehigher and higher as the size of the cop increases, the devicerepresented in Fig. 8 is employed at the commencement of a cop the nutis run back toward 0, and the faller descends through the connectionsalready explained to the bottom of the spindle; as the spinning proceedsthe nut is gradually moved up toward 0 as follows: After the carriagehas taken out and before the backing off the lever A being still in theposition represented in Fig. 13, as the take in chain or cord commencesto wind up, the lever descends and the ratchet wheel m strikes against astationary post or feeding pawl w by which the screw B is caused to makea partial revolution after each successive stretch is spun and the nut Barrives at the opposite end 0' at the time when the cop is com pleted.Up to this point the carriage has remained locked by its spring stop ZAs however the lever A descends the roll a depresses the stop-andreleases the catch 72 and the carriage commences to take in being drawnup by the winding up of the chain L upon the clutch 0. While thecarriage thus takes in, the threads are worked up by the motion of theband f produced by the taking in of the carriage, this band remainingclamped to the wheel 1' by the upper brake Zthe band A running upon thepulley B, the pulley G, and twist pulley a being left free to revolve asthey are impelled by the band f. It is evident that the whole amount ofmotion that may be thus communicated will be due to the length of theband f that may be between the carriage and the pulley a when thecarriage is out and which is to be transferred to the other side of thecarriage during the takin on.

l/Vhen the wheel 1" is left free to revolve there will be no motion ofthe spindles as the accumulated friction upon them all is sufficient tohold the twist drum F from revolving, but when the brake Z is applied tothe wheel 7* the transfer of the band from one side to the other of thecarriage is caused to take place through the twist drum which is thusrevolved and with it the spindles. That this motion of the spindles maybe exactly proportionate to the amount of yarn to be wound and also tothe size of the cop I employ the following device: The brake lever Z isconnected by the chain S with an arm 10 projecting from the shaft V ofthe under faller if now the strain upon the yarns becomes excessive theyarns depress the under faller and the brake Z is raised permitting thedrum band to circulate without driving the spindles. As the greatestamount of backing olf is required at the commencement of the cop, andthis amount continually decreases as the cop progresses, somecontrivance becomes necessary by which the backing 01f may be adjustedto the size of the cop for this purpose the hook (Z is so adjusted uponthe brake 2, that at the commencement of a cop it shall leave the leverK and apply the brake to the wheel .9, at the instant before the lever Kstrikes the block the drum band f is thus clamped to the wheel 1" duringthe whole of the backward vibration of the arm A and its carryingpulleys. As now the block b is moved up toward 0 during the progress ofthe cop, the arm A moves a certain distance in its vibration before thebrake is applied, and thus the brake is applied and the backing offcommences later and later each succeeding stretch and the yarn is backedoff less and less each time till the cop is completed. The arm A and itscarrying pulleys are held steady when vibrated one way and the other, bya spring H which bears upon a pin projecting from the inner side of thelever A While the spinning is taking place the upper faller is raisedinto the position seen in red Fig. 2 by its spring E and a pin :5 (Fig.1,) upon its shaft bearing upon a corresponding pin projecting from theshaft V of the under faller W depresses this faller out of the way ofthe yarn; when however the upper faller is caused to descend the underfaller W is relieved from its control and is elevated by a spring L Bythe connections already explained of the under faller W with the brake2, whenever the tension of the threads in winding up becomes excessive,this faller is depressed and the brake is raised, allowing the band f tocirculate as before described without driving the spindles.

In Fig. 14, is seen a modification of my winding on and buildingapparatus, in which a single brake is made to perform the duties of thetwo brakes already described; this brake Z is connected with the underfaller W by the cord S by means of which the brake is taken off byexcessive tension of the yarns as before; and is applied for the purposeof breaking up and backing ofi in the following manner:

g is a spring attached to the under side of the brake, against whichbears a roller a2 upon the lever K to which the taking in cord L isattached. WVhen the carriage is taking out the pressure of this rollerupon the spring is relieved and the brake is allowed to fall. WVhen thestrain is first put upon the cord L to take the carriage in, the roller02 pressing upon the spring 9 throws up the brake and stops thespindles,

' as the arm K continues to move its upper extremity 0% presses upon thelever A and vibrates its carrying pulleys as before to produce thebacking off. Before the carriage commences to take in the roll a? hasreached a portion of the spring 9 which is not sufficiently strong tosustain the brake, which is thus left to be regulated by the The roll aupon a loose under faller WV What I claim as my invention and desire tosecure by Letters Patent is- 1. Giving a second draft to the yarn afterthe delivery of the ends has ceased for the purpose and in the mannersubstantially as set forth.

2. I claim operating certain motions upon the carriage such as brakingup the spindles backing off the yarns, and operating the upper faller,by the taking-in scroll chain as set forth.

3. I claim running the drum band over a vibrating arm upon the carriageand clamping it thereto at intervals for the purpose of backing OE andwinding up the yarn as set forth.

4. I claim hanging the stop which holds the carriage stationary whilethe second twist is put in, to a spring so that it may yield in themanner described to prevent injury or breakage of the yarn as set forth.

- 5. I claim varying the obtuseness of the cone upon different portionsof the cop by means of the block F operating in the manner substantiallyas set forth.

GEORGE WVRIGHT. l/Vitnesses .I. W. SMITH, A. D. SHA'rTUcK.

